ICA: Independent Inquiry – It Has Already Been Done!

The Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA) notes that the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has called for “an independent examination of all aspects of the relationship between insurers and smash repairers”.

In response, MTAA would like to point out that an appropriate government agency, the then Industry Commission, has already undertaken such an examination and that the Industry Commission’s findings and recommendations were published in its report on the Vehicle and Recreational Marine Craft Repair and Insurance Industries (Report No. 43, 15 March 1995).

In particular, in that report the Industry Commission recommended that:

“4. The current time and hourly rate schedules used for repair quotations should be abandoned. If time and hourly rate schedules are considered to be useful in preparing quotations, they should reflect true times and costs (Section 3.4).

5. The insurance and repair industries should jointly convene a forum to determine processes needed to establish a code of conduct covering matters which impinge on the relationship between the two industries and a procedure for resolving disputes between insurers and repairers
(Section 3.4).”

Almost ten years later, smash repairers are still waiting on agreement from the Insurance Council of Australia and its members that these recommendations can be adopted. Surely now it is time to move forward and get a national solution to the issues that have been on the table since 1995!

For more information contact Michael Delaney, Executive Director, Motor Trades Association of Australia on (02) 6273 4333.